Nov 11, 2014

Hi Cuteheads! I always try to keep you all up to date on how the boys are doing. A couple weeks ago, the update was all clear, but this week we've got a bit of a situation with Pimp.

Last week I noticed that he wasn't really as active as usual, and just not really doing a lot of his normal routine -- like not jumping on the counter when I take a shower, not coming to the kitchen to help "fix" breakfast and dinner and just really sleeping around a lot more and seeming extra lazy. He also wasn't really eating.

So Thursday we went to the vet. The poor guy was down to 7 pounds! He has been holding steady right at about 8.0 to 8.2 for the past couple years. So obviously, the food thing was a issue.

Even at the vet, I still look handsome!

We did a bunch of tests, full blood work and a urinalysis. He has just had it all done last month and it came back great, but things can happen in old kitties, so we wanted to check.

Turns out he has a urinary tract infection, and some gingivitis in his mouth. The doctor felt that the combination of those two were making him feel like he did and not wanting to eat. So we boosted him up with an antibiotic shot and we went home with Clavamox for me to give him twice a day for a couple weeks.

Yesterday I called the vet to see if he should be feeling much better by now, because it had been several days and, while he was eating a little bit more (I'm talking like 10 kibbles in a sitting), it wasn't enough to sustain anycat. I've been such a helicopter mom the past week that I do nothing but worry.

This is my fort. I've been hanging out in here a lot lately.

So since he wasn't really picking up on the eating more, we went to the vet Monday morning again. This time he weighed 6.8 pounds. No good, Pimpy! Obviously he wasn't eating enough.

The vet feels that he's still not all done with the UTI and that he's feeling a little better (he is eating something at least and definitely perkier), but that he needs to eat more, or else it would really be no good.

So we decided that he can eat WHATEVER HE WANTS. He's 15, and he's the king. If he wants tuna sashimi, the vet said, let him have it! Whatever makes him eat, that's the most important thing right now.

My vet visit Monday. You mean I can eat ANYTHING?!

You remember he's been eating the Hill's y/d food to control his hyperthyroid (and that has worked out great!). We're pretty much letting that go, because between the battles we're fighting right now, the eating so he doesn't wither away is the most important one. We don't want to start him on hyperthyroid meds either because they can have side effects and make him nauseous, and we don't want him feeling any more ick right now. He has thrown up a couple times in the past week from just what's going on already.

So we went home and he dined on Fancy Feast for lunch, followed by Greenies for dessert. He hasn't been allowed to have treats for years, and he LOVES them. Best. Day. Ever!

I also bought him canned kitten food so that he gets more calories, and several other packs of healthy-ish treats. He had about half a can of the Fancy Feast kitten tonight! That's huge! He hasn't eaten that much in a long time.

Stay away from my Fancy Feast, lady.

So, paws crossed for Pimpy, please everyone. I love this old man so much, and we're doing what's best for him right now. Hopefully he starts gaining some weight and feeling better, and then we'll see where we go from there.

In the meantime... I hope he doesn't become TOO fancy with his demands. Tuna sashimi is a bit of a stretch for a kitty! ;)